WASHINGTON (EFE).— La meeting between the president of the United States, Donald Trump, and his Colombian counterpart, Gustavo Petro, concluded yesterday in White House after of hours of dialoguewith the aim of relaunching the relationship after a year of disagreements.
The meeting, which took place behind closed doors and without access to the press, did not have a high-profile reception like that of other leaders, such as the Salvadoran, Nayib Bukele; and the Argentine, Javier Miley.
The Colombian arrived aboard a vehicle United States Secret Service with the Colombian flag, although he was not received at the door of the West Wing for Trump nor by the traditional guard of military honor.
The spokesperson for the White House, Caroline Leavittdeclared in an interview with the Fox News network that Trump entered the meeting “with very good disposition.”
This was the first meeting between Trump and Petro, who is in the final stretch of his mandate, with the first round of the presidential elections scheduled for May 31.
At the center was the fight against drug trafficking, since Washington maintains that cocaine production has skyrocketed under the Petro’s governmentwhile he defends that his crop substitution policy has been successful.
The American delegation was completed by the vice president, JD Vancethe Secretary of State, Marco Rubioand the Republican senator of Colombian origin Bernie Moreno. On behalf of Colombia, the Foreign Minister, Rosa Villavicencio, the Minister of Defense, Pedro Sánchez Suárezand the ambassador to the United States, Daniel García-Peña.
After a rise in tensions between Trump and Petro following the US intervention in Venezuela, the two held a phone call on January 7 and agreed to meet.
After the meeting, Trump declared that he got along “very well” with Petro and that the two talked about various issues, including “sanctions.”
Although he did not specify what punishments he was referring to, in October his government designated Petro and his family as people involved in drug trafficking and previously withdrew the certification of Colombia as an ally in the fight against drug trafficking.
As a result of the sanctions, Petro had to receive a special visa from the US government to travel to Washington.
Trump also said that both brought closer positions in the fight against drug trafficking. “We work on it.” (drug trafficking) and we get along very well. He and I weren’t exactly the best of friends, but I didn’t feel offended because I had never met him. “I didn’t know him at all, and we get along very well, and we are working on it,” explained the American president.
“We are also working on other issues, including sanctions. And we had a very good meeting, I thought it was fantastic,” he added.
Personal sanctions
Petro said yesterday in a subsequent press conference that he left his meeting with a “positive impression” and an “optimistic air” after a “moment of serious tension.”
In an interview with Snail Radio, Petro said he did not speak with Trump about his personal sanctions, and assured that the important thing was remove Venezuela and Colombia from said list.
Petro also said that he proposed to Trump that they work together in the military field to combat drug trafficking and that he asked him for help to capture important leaders of the cartels.
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